Broward prosecution DNA expert's credibility questioned

Broward prosecutors have relied on Dr.Martin Tracey, a population geneticist, for DNA-related expert testimony since the 1990s. Courtesy/ FIU - Original Credit: Sun Sentinel - Original Source: Handout

Broward prosecutors have relied on Dr.Martin Tracey, a population geneticist, for DNA-related expert testimony since the 1990s. Courtesy/ FIU - Original Credit: Sun Sentinel - Original Source: Handout (Florida International University)

DNA analyst used by Broward prosecutors was suspended after FIU students claimed he allowed cheating.

A DNA expert whose testimony has been used to convict Broward defendants for more than 20 years is being challenged by defense lawyers after he was suspended from his teaching job at Florida International University.

Martin Tracey has taught biology at FIU for over 40 years, and Broward prosecutors have relied on his expertise since the mid 1990s, according to the State Attorney's Office.

In the spring 2016 semester, a handful of students accused Tracey of looking the other way while other students cheated on exams, according to FIU documents that were disclosed in court filings.

The university suspended him without pay for the fall semester and will place him on probation throughout 2017.

Tracey denied wrongdoing. Efforts to reach him by phone and e-mail the week of Dec. 19 were unsuccessful.

The suspension came to light earlier this month, when Broward State Attorney Mike Satz notified the defense lawyers representing the three men accused of murdering Broward Sheriff's Deputy Brian Tephford in 2006. Tracey was one of the witnesses scheduled to testify in that case, which is due to start in early 2017.

Prosecutors voluntarily removed Tracey from a sexual battery case, and defense lawyers in a separate murder case want to question him about the cheating scandal. Tracey was accused of allowing some students to communicate with each other in open internet chat rooms during exams while failing other students for the same activity.

"If he is aware that students are engaging in cheating, then he is engaging in cheating," said Assistant Public Defender Gordon Weekes. "Any time you have an expert who is going to profess knowledge in a certain area, and that expert has been found to engage in cheating, we're entitled to explore that in front of a jury."

Tracey is involved in 173 pending cases, according to the State Attorney's Office.

Public Defender Howard Finkelstein sent a letter to Satz this week, criticizing the prosecutor for waiting months to tell defense lawyers about the suspension.

But prosecutors say the accusations against Tracey have nothing to do with his qualifications or expertise.

"The public defender has the tendency to yell 'The sky is falling, the sky is falling.' No, the sky is not falling," said Jeff Marcus, Chief Broward Assistant State Attorney. "There's nothing about this that affects his credibility as a population geneticist."

Judges will have to determine on a case-by-case basis whether any jury will ever learn about Tracey's suspension or the reasons for it, Marcus said.